


Dementors Grief

by Angie_leena



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Dementors, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Not Beta Read, Post-War, Pre-Relationship, barely, minutes after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27640633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angie_leena/pseuds/Angie_leena
Summary: I wrote this for my Daily Ficlet Draco challenge (made it up but whatever)it turned out, uh, much longer than the 1k goal i was setting for myself but i really liked it so i figured id post it as a one shot too. hope you like it!***“I forget you're so young sometimes. And so unaware of so many things. I’m sure Miss Granger would know already.” Kingsley said it was a teasing lilt to his voice but Harry rather thought it was a tad insulting. He could feel his ears heating up in embarrassment.“Dementors are not born exactly. They're more. . . . ..brought into being.” he continued.  His eyes were still trained on the boat house, switching between the door and the dementor hovering above it.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Kudos: 15





	Dementors Grief

It was over. 

Harry wouldn't actually believe that it was over. Voldemort was dead. Most of his deatheaters were in custody. And it was over. 

Most of the deatheaters had been stunned watching their lord crumble to ash before them. A few had gotten away, but those not quick enough had been handled easily by the aurors who had shown only seconds too late. 

Harry wasn't too sure what to think about the few number of them to actually be present for the battle. Tonks and Moody had been outliers on the force, morally good and not just able to follow orders. He knew if he was going to go ahead with his plans he would have to do something about that. But for now he was ok to sit between Tonks and Remus and grieve for what was lost. 

Harry sat for a few minutes looking around at the great hall. It was still beautiful, still looked like home to him. But there was so much sadness packed into the grand room. So many dead, fighting for him, with him. 

A commotion near the main doors drew the attention of him and a few others. Hermione who had been hovering nearby stepped closer to him. 

“Let go of me! I won’t be going anywhere without my son!” Lucius Malfoy yelled at the Auror who grabbed his arm. 

“Please, just let us find him and we will all go with you.” Narcissa Malfoy pleaded with Kingsley who looked put out, but not unsympathetic. 

“We don't need your boy, just the two of you. We saw where his allegiance lay and who’s wand defeated your lord. I don't think for a minute anything he did wrong here was his idea.” he said with a glare towards Malfoy Sr. 

Harry heard Hermione’s relieved breath next to him and was shocked at the relief he felt at those words. He knew Malfoy was a git of the highest order but every time he saw him ever since sixth year there had been nothing but fear and desperation in his eyes. Harry had been more than ready to speak up for him no matter what it took, but hearing Kingsley say that Draco wasn't going to be arrested was a weight of his shoulders he wasn't even aware he had. 

He saw Mrs. Malfoy suck in a breath and tears welled in her eyes, her shoulders slumped and it seemed Harry wasn't the only one freed by the statement. He could still feel her breath in his ear asking after her only child. Next to her Lucius was nodding imperiously, as if he wasn't shackled and bleeding. 

“Yes, absolutely. My son did nothing he wasn't forced into. I’ll testify I imperiused him myself” he stated. 

“Blimey,” came a voice next to where he and Hermione stood. Harry turned and saw Ron, together with most of the Weasleys, Neville, Luna, and Dean. 

Dean spoke up next “I saw him do it, saw him cast an imperio at Malfoy.” he said and drew a nodding Luna into his arms. 

The Malfoy’s and their auror guard both turned to look at the crowd they had gathered. Mrs. Malfoy looked shocked for a moment but covered it quickly. Mr Malfoy though, looked at Dean and Luna with regret and grudging admiration, nodding once in acceptance. 

“There you have it. Draco did nothing wrong under his own choice. But” he paused gritting his teeth “Please-” he ground out “allow me to find my son before we are separated forever.” 

Harry was stunned. Everyone knew Lucius Malfoy had escaped Azkaban in the first war by claiming to be under the Imperius. That he would allow his son to claim the same under his own hand to guarantee his safety was completely unexpected from the man Harry thought he was. The older Malfoy he had seen through Voldemort's visions had been a broken shell of a man. Even the man Harry had seen only minutes before, still cowering behind his lord, seemed ages away from the desperate father in front of him. That Mrs. Malfoy loved her son was obvious from the first, but he had never realized that Mr. Malfoy might love him as well. 

Before he could think of a loving Malfoy family dynamic, another younger auror stepped into the great hall. 

“Someone spotted him outside by the lake a few minutes ago” they said. 

“Please” Mrs. Malfoy asked again, pride all but broken by this point. 

Kingsley stared at them both almost dispassionately before sighing and nodding to the aurors holding the couple. As they walked out Harry found himself walking automatically with them. The air outside was still hazy with smoke. Harry tried not to look around at the destroyed castle, he kept his head down and his eyes trained on the red of Kingsley’s robes. 

Mrs. Malfoy saw him first. 

“There! Over there! Draco!” she called out to Malfoy’s retreating back. If he heard her he made no sign of it. He kept moving slowly, but purposefully onward, his head swiveling back and forth over the ruined terrain. 

“We must hurry.” said Mr. Malfoy. He looked scared and gaunt once again, his worry beginning to break through the arrogant facade he showed earlier. 

Draco didn't move any faster, every once in a while he would stop and peer at a- peer down Harry corrected himself firmly- Harry could see his shoulders shaking harder and harder each time he moved on. 

“He’s looking for someone.” Harry realized. The group in front of him stopped and turned to look at him, apparently surprised by his company. 

Mrs. Malfoy turned away first. Harry had been too busy fidgeting under their looks to notice Draco had slipped out of sight. 

“He’s gone.” he said, surprised, until he noticed the direction Draco had been moving in. 

The Boat House. 

Harry heard a scream pierce the air. 

The cry was loud, and high pitched, and full of so much anguish. Harry felt the grief and hopelessness of it as if it was own. He felt his chest crack open right between his ribs, the pain so real he reached up with hand to rub at the spot. 

The scream brought back every defeated memory Harry had. He could see Tonks and Remus laid out dead still reaching for each other. 

He saw the Weasley’s silent in their grief surrounding their lost son and brother, even George who looked closer to dead than alive. 

The scream went on and on, drowning Harry and pulling him down deeper into his despair over the senseless loss of life. It was like a banshee’s scream or a sirens song, never ending and painful, a death knell and acknowledgment of suffering. 

It felt like Draco was screaming directly next to him. Right into his ear and across every nerve ending Harry had. 

Harry opened his eyes and saw the others still in front of him, clutching themselves with their hands over their ears. Mrs. Malfoy was openly crying and leaned heavily into her husband's arms. Kingsley had his hands to his head but his eyes were open, looking soberly at the boat house through squinted eyes. 

Finally the noise cut off.

The sudden silence was almost as painful as the screaming had been. It felt like it had gone on for hours, but Harry knew it had only been seconds. 

Suddenly a small black shape began to materialize above the small shack. Harry squinted, trying to make out the shape but it seemed to be shifting as if not sure what it wanted to be. It looked more like a black patronus than anything solid. Next to him one of the auror’s spoke up. 

“Merlin almighty what the bloody hell did the poor boy find in there?” 

Harry answered without thinking. “Snape’s body” he said absently, still staring at what was looking more and more like a-  
“Dementor” he whispered “is that a dementor” 

“If your saying that Draco just encountered the dead body of Severus Snape, then yes Potter, that is more than likely a new dementor.” Mr. Malfoy said coldly. Harry scowled at him. It was almost good to know that the man was still an arse. 

Mrs. Malfoy moved away from him, not bothering to wipe at the black tear tracks marring her face. She did straighten her shoulders and take a step forward, then another larger one, dragging her handler forward with her. 

Harry eyed the small dementor still hovering menacingly, now that he was sure what it was. Mr. Malfoy followed behind her, her long stride keeping her ahead. Harry continued to follow at a slower pace, wary of the wraith. He looked over at KingslEy who had a troubled look on his face, his eyes darting up and away from the dementor periodically. 

“Do you want me to cast a patronus to get rid of it?” Harry blurted out suddenly, startling the man slightly. He sighed. 

“No i don't believe we need that just yet.” he said

Harry frowned. 

“Why not? And what’s that Malfoy was saying? A new dementor?”

Kingsley looked at him slightly through the corner of his eye, not breaking pace behind the Malfoys.

“It's a new dementor Harry. A baby if you want. Just born.” 

Harry was stunned. He had never given much thought to where dementors “came from” before and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. 

“Oh, err, I didn't know they could have uh, babies” he said rather awkwardly. He could see Kingsley smile slightly at his obvious discomfort. More a twitch of the corner of his lip really but Harry figured that was all that was allowed at the moment. 

“I forget you're so young sometimes. And so unaware of so many things. I’m sure Miss Granger would know already.” he said it was a teasing lilt to his voice but Harry rather thought it was a tad insulting. He could feel his ears heating up in embarrassment. 

“Dementors are not born exactly. They're more. . . . ..brought into being.” he said. His eyes were still trained on the boat house, switching between the door and the dementor hovering above it. 

“How?” Harry asked when it didn't seem like he was going to be anymore forthcoming. 

Mrs. Malfoy had made it into the boat house, not even glancing at the spectre above her head. Her handler let her go in alone, clearly unwilling to pass beneath it. Following her lead Mr. Malfoy was also unhanded and marched inside, though Harry could see the tension in his shoulders as he made to pass. 

“A dementor is born from the pained scream of a soul. That’s what we heard back there.” Kingsley said motioning behind them. Harry looked back for the first time since leaving through the double doors, he was surprised to see a crowd of people hovering about and watching them. They were too far for Harry, even with his glasses, to see who they were. 

“They’re born from a soul” he repeated rather dubiously.

“From the scream of a soul. One in unimaginable grief, or pain. It’s said the first dementors were born of the squib bastard of the family Azkaban, who was tortured in their private mansion where the prison now sits. Their torture reached his soul and unleashed the dementor on them and drove them madder than they already were. The boy was an obscurial, used every piece of magic he didn't know he had in him to separate his pain from his soul.”

Harry only blinked at him. He had no idea what to even begin to think about that. Truthfully it sounded more like a fairy tale than anything else, but he had the Elder wand in his hand and the Invisibility cloak in his pocket so who was he to say it wasn't true. 

“And Malfoy, Draco Malfoy felt enough grief over Professor Snape to create a dementor?” he asked skeptically.

“Tell me Potter,” Lucius said behind him “how much grief did it cause you when you lost the godfather you had only truly known for a handful of months?” 

Harry spun around surprised at his interruption. He snarled and drew wand at the man’s words, before realizing he was carrying Snape in his manacled arms. The sight saved him from a nasty hex but Harry wasn't going to let him get away with bringing up Sirius. 

“And who’s fault was that huh?!” he hissed at him through clenched teeth trying and failing to reign in his anger. 

“I’m pretty sure it was that bitch of a sister in law of mine. Do remind Draco to send the Weasley’s a gift basket on my behalf. I’d do it myself but I may be out of the area for the indefinite future.” 

“And before you lose your tenuous grip on your temper , I only ask you that to say this: the grief you felt at losing your godfather is nothing -” he hissed, finally losing his Malfoy composure “to the grief Draco is feeling at losing his and being the one to find his mangled body. He has always been there in Draco’s life, from the moment he slipped from my wife’s body into Severus’ waiting hands until the dark lord called him away on the steps of this school.”

“I understand Severus showed his disdain for your openly at any opportunity he had despite his overwhelmingly unrequited love for your mother but in Draco’s eyes that acerbic man was everything. So yes, Harry Potter. Draco’s grief and pain over the loss of his godfather bore him a dementor” Mr. Malfoy hissed. He stood unmoving and unblinking until he curled his lip at Harry and turned away from him, dismissing him. 

“I am ready to go now. I will take the body with me to the ministry and have my lawyers begin burial proceedings according to his will.”

Harry only stood, stunned at what he had learned. He knew Snape had favored his Slytherin’s. He had been especially lenient towards Malfoy, but he had no idea their relationship had run so deep. He wondered how he could have missed it for 6 years. He remembered the viciousness in Snape’s glare the night Dumbledore died when Harry chased them. And the desperate worry in his eye in Myrtle’s bathroom before he fell to his knees to heal Draco from Harry’s attack. 

He saw a shadow move in the corner of his eye and turned to see the dementor move away from them, now fully formed if a bit small. Behind him he heard the rushing sound of a portkey activating, sending Mr. Malfoy with Snape’s body directly to the ministry. The remaining auror finally moved into the boat house now that the path was clear. He came back seconds later with Draco in his arms, much like Mr. Malfoy held Snape. 

Harry felt his breath catch in irrational fear. He knew Draco was fine if not just emotionally and physically exhausted like the rest of them but he felt his heart skip a beat, then take off at high speed when he saw the rise and fall of his breathing. 

Mrs. Malfoy came to Harry holding an envelope. Harry took it and what looked like another vile of memories. Both had Draco’s name on them in the Half Blood Prince’s handwriting. 

“Give these to him when he wakes up. Or whenever he needs them most.” she told him, her gaze steady on Harry’s face until he nodded in the affirmative. She smiled at him. 

“You’ll take care of him won’t you Mr. Potter?” she asked, her soft, posh voice so much closer to Draco’s cadence than his fathers. 

“Er, I uh, I mean, I'll try” Harry told her uncertainty. He could feel his face begin to heat up and rubbed at his neck with his extra hand. Mrs. Malfoy was still looking at him with Draco’s gray blue eyes. Harry wondered how he ever thought Draco looked like his father when all they had in common was their hair. Everything else was from his mother. 

“Yes, i suppose that’s all you’ll be able to do.” she turned and nodded to Kingsley and held her hands out to her auror who still had Draco in his arms.  
“I’m ready when you are auror Redding.” she told him. Redding jumped, jostling Draco only to freeze at the look on Mrs. Malfoy’s face. 

She cleared her throat slightly and Redding began to fidget before looking at Harry and crossing over to him. He barely had time to shove the letter and memories into his pocket before he found himself with an armful of unconscious long limbs and pale skin. Harry looked down at Draco and then up at Mrs. Malfoy. She smiled serenely at him then with a nod from her Redding activated the portkey and they were gone. 

“We’ll have to be careful with that one,” Kingsley said beside him. He still wasn't smiling but his eyes were a little less dull than before, Harry thought. “She’ll take the palace over if we send her to Azkaban.”

Harry only glanced at him before looking down at the boy in his arms. 

“Right then, good luck with him Harry.” Kingsley told him with a wink, before disapparating on the spot leaving Harry alone. 

Harry sighed and began his walk back up to the castle. He was tired and Draco needed a bed. As he walked he felt the vial in his pocket and wondered what kind of memories a loving godfather left their beloved godson.

**Author's Note:**

> the bit about dementors originating from the Mansion Azkaban originally was, was actually something JK said at one point apparently so i thought i'd drop it in here and mix it with my own lore.  
> let me know what you think please.


End file.
